Over half of Canadians worry about climate change’s impact on food: survey – National | 24CA News
More than half of Canadians are both very or extraordinarily involved concerning the influence that local weather change may have on meals safety, a current survey has discovered.
In partnership with Caddle, the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University surveyed 5,450 Canadians about their consuming habits through the summer time or sizzling climate and measured how local weather change is impacting perceptions associated to meals safety general. The survey was carried out in late July.
“It (the survey) revealed that 52.3 per cent of Canadians are either very or extremely concerned about climate change in general, while 21.3 per cent are either slightly or not concerned at all,” the survey report, which was launched on Tuesday, stated.
“A significant 73.0 per cent of Canadians believe that climate change is affecting weather patterns, resulting in unpredictable weather patterns in Canada.”
The survey stated 61 per cent of the respondents stated local weather change was affecting Canada’s skill to provide meals. Another 14.9 per cent stated they believed the alternative, whereas 25.1 per cent stated that they had “some belief” that local weather change was adversely affecting meals manufacturing.
Of the respondents, 47.1 per cent stated they have been apprehensive about meals availability being affected by local weather change, whereas 22.2 per cent stated they weren’t involved.
According to the survey, a complete of 37.6 per cent of Canadians usually or at all times take into account the environmental influence of their meals decisions, whereas 29.4 per cent hardly ever or by no means achieve this.
At 48.1 per cent, Quebec had the best proportion of people that thought of the environmental influence of their meals decisions and Saskatchewan had the bottom at 26.4 per cent.
Some Canadians declare that they’ve already seen meals availability being impacted by local weather change. A complete of 40.1 per cent of Canadians reported having seen adjustments within the availability or number of sure meals through the summer time lately.
While 32.9 per cent stated no, 27 per cent stated they aren’t certain.
“We were intrigued to find that while Quebec leads in considering the environmental impact of food choices during hot weather, Saskatchewan lags behind,” Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, lab director at Agri-Food Analytics Lab, stated.
“Our study highlights the growing importance of climate-conscious eating habits and raises awareness about the need for sustainable practices in the agri-food sector. However, results show that as Canadians witness the effects of climate change on food availability, most remain confident about the future.”
According to a 2022 report, two-thirds of the world’s energy come from 4 staple meals: wheat, rice, maize and soybeans. At least 72 per cent of those crops are grown in simply 5 nations: China, the United States, India, Brazil and Argentina.
A local weather disaster in any a number of of those nations may ship the complete world right into a meals disaster, the report stated. That comes as India has restricted exports of rice merchandise over current months and as extra nations face longer intervals of drought and excessive climate.
The report stated wheat – 65 per cent of which is produced in water-scarce environments – would be the most susceptible of all the key staples.
Climate change is already having an influence on meals provides, significantly in Canada.
“In Western Canada, multiple climate disasters – including extreme heat, drought and forest fires, followed swiftly by unprecedented rainfall, landslides and flooding – wreaked havoc on food production in 2021,” the report stated.
“Wheat production plummeted by 35 per cent and canola by 14 per cent, 1.3 million farm animals died, and 80 per cent of commercial shellfish stocks were wiped out in a massive die-off.”
A 2021 report that referred to as on the Canadian authorities to have an “increased focus to adapt crops and plants to become more resilient to more extreme weather.”
The report from the Food Systems Summit, convened by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, additionally referred to as on the Canadian authorities to interact “with Canada’s Indigenous and remote communities to help address food security and production issues.”
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